Speaker system for computer

ABSTRACT

A speaker system for a computer includes at least one speaker disposed within a computer case, at least two sound emitting ports disposed on an exterior of the computer case, at least two sound transmitting paths each disposed within the computer case and connected to the at least one speaker and a respective one of the at least two sound transmitting paths for receiving sound waves from the at least one speaker and transmitting the sound waves to a respective one of the at least two sound emitting ports.

This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No.60/021,526 filed Jul. 11, 1996.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a speaker system preferably for use in alaptop or notebook computer, and more specifically, to an improvedarrangement of at least one speaker provided within a computer housingsuch that the sound produced by the at least one speaker and emittedfrom the computer housing is greatly improved.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

As computers are used more frequently for multimedia applications, therehas been an increased demand for high-quality speakers for use withcomputers. One type of computer speakers are completely independent ofthe computer and are connected to audio output ports provided on thecomputer.

While this type of arrangement may be acceptable for desktop computers,this arrangement proved to be too cumbersome for laptop or notebookcomputers. Because of the substantially reduced size of laptop andnotebook computers and the desire to have the most lightweight andsimple configuration for a laptop or notebook computer, the use ofrelatively large independent speakers which must be manually connectedto an input port in the laptop or notebook computer is undesirable.

To overcome this problem, laptop or notebook computers were redesignedto incorporate a speaker or speakers within the housing of the computer.

FIG. 1 shows such a conventional laptop computer 100 including a case102, a display 104, a keyboard 106 and a palm rest 108. The computer 100also has a speaker 110 located within the palm rest 108 providedadjacent the keyboard 106. The speaker 110 is connected to a sound cardor other suitable sound generating device disposed within the computer100. An upper surface of the speaker is covered by a suitable cover orgrill 112 connected to the palm rest 108. The speaker is arranged so asto "fire" or emit sound from the palm rest 108 in a direction towards anupper surface of the palm rest 108 such that sound is transmitted froman upper surface of the palm rest 108 through the speaker cover 112.

This type of design has several disadvantages. When a user is operatingthe computer 100, the user's hands are located on the palm rest 108 andwill muffle the sound produced by the speaker 110.

In addition, because of the arrangement of the speaker 110 within thecomputer case 102, the sound quality of the sound produced by thespeaker 110 is very poor. As discussed above, the sound produced by thespeaker 110 is fired from an upper surface of the speaker 110 through asingle port located at an upper surface of the palm rest 108. However,back waves or sound that is emitted from a bottom surface of the speaker110 is not ported and therefore, is transmitted from the bottom surfaceof the speaker 110 to the interior of the case 102 located at the palmrest 108. The result is that the sound waves emitted from a bottomsurface of the speaker 110 interfere and cancel sound waves emitted froman upper surface of the speaker 110 to produce a low volume, low qualitysound.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome thedisadvantages described above by providing a speaker system including atleast one speaker disposed within a computer such that the speakerproduces high-volume and high-quality sound generated by applicationsrun by the computer. More specifically, the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention provide a novel arrangement of at least one speakerthat is hidden within a computer case and includes multiple sound portssuch that the speaker is capable of producing high-quality sound withoutincreasing the size of the computer.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, aspeaker system for a computer includes at least one speaker disposedwithin a computer case, at least two sound emitting ports disposed on anexterior of the computer case, at least two sound transmitting pathseach disposed within the computer case and connected to the at least onespeaker and a respective one of the at least two sound transmittingpaths for receiving sound waves from the at least one speaker andtransmitting the sound waves to a respective one of the at least twosound emitting ports.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, aspeaker system for a computer includes at least one speaker disposedwithin a computer case, the at least one speaker being mounted withinthe case via at least one support member such to that the speaker islocated at a desired distance from an upper surface of the computer caseand a lower surface of the computer case, an upper surface of thespeaker having a rim member extending around a portion of thecircumference of the speaker, first and second sound transmitting pathslocated within the computer case, the rim member being connected to thefirst sound transmitting path which extends along the computer case to afirst sound emitting port for emitting sound generated by the at leastone speaker, the bottom surface of the speaker being sealed by thesecond sound transmitting path for transmitting sound waves emanatingfrom the bottom portion of the speaker via the second sound transmittingpath to a second sound emitting port for emitting sound generated by thespeaker.

In a further embodiment, the sound system can include at least twospeakers each disposed within the computer case and each speakerincluding first and second sound transmitting paths which are connectedto a common mixing chamber for mixing the sound and filtering outundesired sound frequencies to produce a higher-quality sound. Themixing chamber is preferably connected to at least two sound emittingports for firing the sound generated by the at least two speakers.

In the preferred embodiments described above, the sound emitting portsare preferably located at a front edge of the computer case and a rearedge of the computer case. The sound emitting ports located at the rearedge of the computer case are preferably located at a rear edge of thepalm rest adjacent the keyboard of the computer. In an alternativeembodiment, the sound emitting ports can be located on the left andright side surfaces of the computer.

In the preferred embodiment described above, all of the sound generatedby the speaker is either transmitted to the first sound transmittingpath or the second sound transmitting path. Consequently, the soundwaves emitted from the upper surface of the speaker and the sound wavesemitted from the lower surface of the speaker do not interfere with eachother or cancel each other.

Instead, the sound produced by the speaker system described above isgreatly improved compared to the prior art arrangement. This improvedsound results from an enhanced base response and the summing of soundwaves instead of the cancellation or baffling of sound waves whichoccurs in the prior art. The prior art speaker only allows sound to beported or emitted from a single exit port located on an outer portion ofthe computer case. As a result of this arrangement, sound wavesemanating from the bottom surface of the speaker reverberate within thespeaker housing and cancel with sound waves generated from the frontsurface of the speaker to produce a baffled sound.

By providing multiple sound emitting ports and by locating the speakerin a specific desired position relative to an upper and lower surface ofthe computer case in the preferred embodiments of the present invention,it is possible to back-fire and front-fire the sound to preventcancellation of sound waves. More specifically, the inner casing of thespeaker is used to direct back waves of the speakers to avoidcancellation. As described above, a portion of the sound produced by thespeaker is transmitted via a first sound transmission path to a firstsound emitting port and a second portion of the sound is transmitted toa second sound transmission path to a second sound emitting port. Thecancellation of the sound waves is avoided because the difference inlengths and volume of the sound transmission paths for the first andsecond portions of the sound produce a phase shift between the first andsecond portions of the sound. The result of dividing of the front wavesand back waves of the speakers and separately firing these portions ofthe sound produced by the speaker via two separate sound transmissionpaths is that a summing effect is produced to thereby increase the baseresponse, sound quality and fullness of sound produced by the speaker.This arrangement avoids the muffling, baffling and sound cancellation ofthe prior art arrangements.

In addition, the arrangement of the speaker system according to thepreferred embodiments of the present invention avoids the problemsassociated with only front firing the speakers as in the prior art. Inthe preferred embodiments of the present invention, the sound is firedor emitted from sound emitting ports provided on the edges of thecomputer case located remote from an operator's hand position.

If desired, the sound can also be fired from a port located at anopening in the computer case provided for a mouse or track ball locatedwithin the palm rest. The number and location of the sound emittingports can be varied according to necessity or specific desires.

Thus, the hidden speaker arrangement including one or more speakersproduces relatively huge sound as compared to the single or two-speakerfront firing system of the prior art. In addition, the arrangement ofthe at least one speaker according to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention allows the speaker to be hidden and occupy minimalexisting space thereby avoiding the need to increase the size of thelaptop or notebook.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments ofthe present invention which are shown in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional speaker system for acomputer;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the speaker system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of the speaker system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the preferred embodiment shown inFIG. 2.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.2. A computer 1, preferably a laptop or notebook computer, includes acase 12, a display 14, a keyboard 16, a palm rest 18 and a speaker 20.The speaker 20 is connected to a sound card or other suitable soundgenerating device provided in the computer 1. The structure andoperation of the speaker 20 is known and will therefore not be describedherein.

A plurality of sound emitting ports 22, 24 are preferably disposed on afront edge of the case 12 and a rear edge of the palm rest 18 adjacentto the keyboard 16, respectively. Alternatively, the sound emittingports may be located on the left and right side edges of the case 12. Itis also possible that sound emitting ports may be located at each of thefront, left and right side edges of the case and the rear edge of thepalm rest adjacent to the keyboard 16.

Because of the location of the sound emitting ports 22, 24, theplacement of an operator's hands on the palm rest 18 does not muffle thesound emitted from the ports 22, 24. Because the sound is fired from theports 22, 24 which are spaced from a location of the speaker 20, thespeaker 20 can be disposed within the case 12 at the palm rest 18 sothat the speaker 20 is completely hidden from view.

The arrangement of the speaker 20 is more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4. As seen in FIG. 4, the speaker 20 is mounted within the case 12via a support 30. The support 30 may preferably comprise a rigidmaterial such as plastic that is formed either in a substantiallycircular shape or comprises two separate mounting portions whichsurround the speaker 20. The support 30 is formed so as to seal thespeaker 20 and to locate the speaker 20 at a desired distance from anupper surface of the case and a lower surface of the case.

The support includes at least two openings 32, 34 for directing soundwaves generated by the speaker 20 to a first sound transmitting path 42and a second sound transmitting path 44. As seen in FIG. 4, the firstsound transmitting path 42 is connected to the sound emitting port 22and the second sound transmitting path 44 is connected to the soundemitting port 24. Although not visible in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality ofsound emitting ports 22 spaced along the front edge of the case 12 and aplurality of sound emitting ports 24 spaced along the rear edge of thepalm rest 18 may be provided.

A sound directing rim 26 is preferably provided at an upper surface ofthe speaker 20 to direct sound waves emanating from an upper surface ofthe speaker 20 into the first sound transmitting path 42.

As a result of the speaker 20 being located within the support 30, thespeaker 20 is completely sealed within the case 12. The sound emanatingfrom an upper portion of the speaker 20 is directed by the sounddirecting rim 26 through the opening 32 to the first sound transmittingpath 42. The sound emanating from a bottom portion of the speaker 20 isdirected through the opening 34 to the second sound transmitting path44.

While the sound is being transmitted via the first and second soundtransmitting paths 42, 44 to the sound emitting ports 22, 24, the soundin the two paths 42, 44 is filtered such that the sound emitted from theports 22, 24 is in phase to avoid cancellation and to provide a summingeffect. That is, because of the differences in length and volume of thesound transmitting paths 42, 44, the sound emitted from the first soundtransmitting path 42 is delayed and phase shifted, by preferably 180degrees, relative to the sound emitted from the second soundtransmitting path 44. As a result, the sound produced by the speaker 20at the ports 22, 24 is high-volume and high quality. In addition, thebass response of the sound produced is greatly enhanced.

If desired, filtering components such as amplifiers, band pass filters,low pass filters, high pass filters, equalizers and other suitablecomponents may be provided within the sound transmitting paths 42, 44 toprovide further refinement and fine-tuning of the sound produced. Forexample, a sound amplifying plate may be provided within the soundtransmitting paths 42, 44 to amplify the sound produced at the soundemitting ports 22, 24.

Thus, the arrangement of the speaker 20 in the support 30, the multiplesound transmitting paths 42, 44 and the sound emitting ports 22, 24allow the speaker 20 to be front-fired and back-fired such that theinterior of the computer case 12 is used to direct the back sound wavesand front sound waves generated by the speaker 20 to provide a summingaffect of the back and front sound waves, thereby avoiding acancellation effect existing in prior art arrangements.

In a modification of the preferred embodiment described above, the soundsystem can include at least two speakers 20 each disposed within thecomputer case 12. Each speaker 20 preferably includes the first andsecond sound transmitting paths 42, 44 as described above. However,these sound transmitting paths 42, 44 are preferably connected to acommon mixing chamber for mixing the sound and filtering out undesiredsound frequencies to produce a higher-quality sound. The mixing chamberis preferably connected to at least two sound emitting ports for firingthe sound generated by the at least two speakers.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular preferred embodiments thereof, many variations andmodifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled inthe art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention belimited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A speaker system for a computer including acomputer case having a top wall, a bottom wall and side walls connectingthe top wall and the bottom wall, the speaker system comprising:at leastone speaker disposed within the computer case; a support located withinthe computer case for supporting the at least one speaker such that thespeaker is spaced from the top and bottom walls of the computer case,the support including a first opening located above a front surface ofthe at least one speaker so as to receive front waves from the frontsurface and a second opening located below a back surface of the atleast one speaker so as to receive back waves from the back surface; atleast two sound emitting ports disposed on an exterior surface of thecomputer case; and at least two sound transmitting paths each disposedwithin the computer case and connected to the at least one speaker viaone of the first and second openings of the support and connected to arespective one of the at least two sound emitting ports for receivingsound waves generated by the at least one speaker via the first andsecond holes in the support and transmitting the sound waves to arespective one of the at least two sound emitting ports via the at leasttwo sound transmitting paths.
 2. The speaker system according to claim1, wherein the at least one speaker is spaced from the top wall of thecomputer case to define a front sound wave chamber disposed in contactwith the first opening in the support, the front sound wave chamberarranged to receive sound waves from the front surface of the at leastone speaker and transmit front sound waves via the first opening in thesupport and one of the at least two sound transmitting paths to one ofthe at least two sound emitting ports.
 3. The speaker system accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one speaker is spaced from the bottomwall of the computer case to define a back sound wave chamber disposedin contact with the second opening in the support, the back sound wavechamber arranged to receive sound waves from the back surface of the atleast one speaker and transmit back sound waves via the second openingin the support and one of the at least two sound transmitting paths toone of the at least two sound emitting ports.
 4. The speaker systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a sound directing rim providedat an upper surface of the at least one speaker and arranged to directsound waves emanating from the upper surface of the speaker to one ofthe least two sound transmitting paths.
 5. The speaker system accordingto claim 1, wherein said at least two sound emitting ports arerespectively disposed at a front edge of the computer case and rear edgeof a palm rest formed on the computer case.
 6. The speaker systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said at least two sound emitting ports arerespectively disposed at opposite side edges of the computer case. 7.The speaker system according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least twosound emitting ports is located at an opening formed in the computercase for housing a mouse therein.
 8. The speaker system according toclaim 1, further comprising a plurality of speakers disposed within thecomputer case, each of the plurality of speakers being connected to afirst sound transmitting path and a second sound transmitting path. 9.The speaker system according to claim 8, further comprising a mixingchamber for mixing sound produced by the plurality of speakers, whereinthe first and second sound transmitting paths of the plurality ofspeakers are connected to the mixing chamber.
 10. The speaker systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the mixing chamber is connected to the atleast two sound emitting ports for transmitting sound waves from thefirst and second transmitting paths to the at least two sound emittingports.
 11. A computer comprising:a computer case having a top wall, abottom wall and side walls connecting the top wall and the bottom wall;a keyboard disposed on a operator surface of the computer case; a palmrest disposed on the operator surface of the computer case adjacent thekeyboard; at least one speaker disposed within the computer case; asupport located within the computer case for supporting the at least onespeaker such that the speaker is spaced from the top and bottom walls ofthe computer case, the support including a first opening located above afront surface of the at least one speaker so as to receive front wavesfrom the front surface and a second opening located below a back surfaceof the at least one speaker so as to receive back waves from the backsurface; at least two sound emitting ports disposed on an exteriorsurface of the computer case; and at least two sound transmitting pathseach disposed within the computer case and connected to the at least onespeaker via one of the first and second openings of the support andconnected to a respective one of the at least two sound emitting portsfor receiving sound waves generated by the at least one speaker via arespective one of the first and second holes in the support andtransmitting the sound waves to a respective one of the at least twosound emitting ports via a respective one of the at least two soundtransmitting paths.
 12. The computer according to claim 11, wherein theat least one speaker is disposed within the computer case at a locationbelow the palm rest.
 13. The computer according to claim 11, wherein atleast two sound transmitting paths are acoustically isolated from aninterior of the computer case defined by the top, bottom and side wallsthereof.
 14. The computer according to claim 11, further comprising asound directing rim disposed at an upper surface of the at least onespeaker, the sound directing rim extending around a portion of acircumference of the at least one speaker to direct sound from the atleast one speaker to one of the at least two sound transmitting paths.15. The computer according to claim 11, wherein the at least one speakeris sealed within the computer case such that a bottom portion of the atleast one speaker opens only at a location of a first one of the atleast two sound transmitting paths and a top portion of the at least onespeaker opens only at a second one of the at least two soundtransmitting paths.
 16. A sound system for a computer having a computercase including a top wall, a bottom wall and side walls connecting thetop and bottom walls, the sound system comprising:at least one speakerdisposed within the computer case; at least two sound transmitting pathsarranged to receive front and back sound waves from front and backsurfaces of the at least one speaker, the at least two soundtransmitting paths being separate from and acoustically isolated from aninterior of the computer case defined by the top, bottom and side wallsthereof; a plurality of sound emitting ports connected to the at leastone speaker via the at least two sound transmitting paths; wherein theat least one speaker, the at least two sound transmitting paths and theplurality of sound emitting ports are arranged such that back wavesemanating from the rear surface of the at least one speaker are directedto one of the plurality of sound emitting ports via a first one of theat least two sound transmitting paths and front waves emanating from thefront surface of the at least one speaker are directed to another of theplurality of sound emitting ports via a second one of the at least twosound transmitting paths.
 17. The sound system according to claim16,wherein the at least one speaker is spaced from the top wall of thecomputer case to define a front sound wave chamber disposed in contactwith the first opening in the support, the front sound wave chamberarranged to receive sound waves from the front surface of the at leastone speaker and transmit front sound waves via the first opening in thesupport and one of the at least two sound transmitting paths to one ofthe at least two sound emitting ports and the at least one speaker isspaced from the bottom wall of the computer case to define a back soundwave chamber disposed in contact with the second opening in the support,the back sound wave chamber arranged to receive sound waves from theback surface of the at least one speaker and transmit back sound wavesvia the second opening in the support and one of the at least two soundtransmitting paths to one of the at least two sound emitting ports. 18.The speaker system according to claim 16, wherein the at least two soundtransmitting paths have different shapes so as to produce a phase shiftbetween the back waves and the front waves such that the back waves andfront waves are summed.
 19. The speaker system according to claim 16,further comprising a support member for supporting and sealing the atleast one speaker within the computer case, the support membercompletely sealing the at least one speaker except for a first openingconnected to a first one of the at least two sound transmitting pathsand a second opening connected to a second one of the at least two soundtransmitting paths.
 20. The speaker system according to claim 16,further comprising a mixing chamber and a plurality speakers beingarranged such that back waves emanating from a rear of each of theplurality of speakers are directed to the mixing chamber and then to oneof the plurality of sound emitting ports and front waves emanating froma top portion of each of the plurality of speakers are directed to themixing chamber and then to another of the plurality of sound emittingports.